TOKYO -- Taiwanese suppliers have expanded their presence inside Apple's high-end tablet, gaining ground on their South Korean rivals. A teardown of t

iPad Pro teardown shows sharp increase in Taiwan parts

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2021-06-17 18:00:06

TOKYO -- Taiwanese suppliers have expanded their presence inside Apple's high-end tablet, gaining ground on their South Korean rivals. A teardown of the latest iPad Pro found that Taiwanese electronics parts makers are responsible for some 20% of all the components in value terms, second only to South Korean suppliers.

Taiwanese suppliers make key parts for what Apple calls the Liquid Retina XDR display. The core chip for Apple's flagship tablet computer, designed by the tech giant itself, is also made by a Taiwanese supplier.

Taiwanese parts' new prominence inside the device came at the expense of South Korean components, which made up over 40% of the previous iPad Pro.

Nikkei tore down the latest 12.9-inch high-end tablet, released in May, in cooperation with Tokyo-based research specialist Fomalhaut Techno Solutions. We were also helped by suppliers and research companies in identifying what companies some components came from.

Fomalhaut has estimated the production cost of the model at $510, up more than 30% from that of its predecessor. South Korean parts represent 38.6% of the cost, down from 44%.

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